• Lamb Meat (2 lbs)
• Onions (2; finely chopped)
• Carrots (2-3 peeled and julienned)
• Raisins (1/4 cup)
• Cinnamon powder (1 teaspoon)
• Cumin powder (2 tablespoons)
• Sugar (1 tablespoon)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (2-3 tablespoons to taste)
• Rice (3 cups)

Note: You can use chicken, beef or goat meat instead of lamb. The fattier the meat the better the palao.

Tip: if your meat doesn’t have bones, you can add some bone marrows.

Directions:

Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in room temperature water for 20-30 minutes.

In a pot, add some oil and once hot add the meat and cook on medium heat and brown all sides.

Add onions, salt and pepper and give it all a good stir. (Personally, I like more black pepper)

Once the onions are translucent add cumin and cinnamon powder and give it a stir. Add enough water to cover the meat and bring it to a simmer.

Cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until the meat is fork tender. Add more water as necessary. You want the meat to have gravy, not too runny and not too thick. Once the meat is cooked you can scoop out the meat and set it aside.

While the meat is cooking, in a frying pan add some oil and fry the raisins and set them aside.

Add the julienned carrots, add the sugar and give it a stir and fry the carrots for 4-5 minutes on low until the carrots are caramelized and cooked through.

Once the raisins and carrots have cooled down, wrap them in tin foils pouches separately.

Drain the soaking water from the rice. In a pot bring 5-6 cups of water to boil and add the rice and some salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes till the rice is 80-90% cooked. (Quick tip take a grain of rice and squeeze it between your finger tips and if it’s soft the rice is ready). Strain out the water from the rice and set it aside.

For assembling the palao, in a large pot add a layer of rice, place the meat pieces and sprinkle some cumin powder and cinnamon powder. Repeat the process and add more layers until you’ve used up all the rice and meat. Then pour over the meat gravy over the rice.

Wrap a kitchen towel on the lid of the pot and cover the pot and leave the heat to low and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.

To serve, take out the carrots and the raisins from the pouches and gently stir the rice and mix everything together.